Michael Kanellos of CNET published a list of electric car making companies he knows of (LINK). Here is the list:

Tesla Motors

Wrightspeed

Fisker Automotive

Zap

Miles Automotive

Zenn

AC Propulsion

Phoenix Motorcars

Aptera

Porteon

Lightning

Reva

Ultramotor

Myers Motors

Th!nk

Venture Vehicles

To these were added by her commenters:

Brammo

Silence PT2

Universal Electric Vehicles

Commuter Cars

Hybrid Technologies

Bricklin’s Visionary Vehicles

Intentionally the major carmakers weren’t mentioned. If you know of more feel free to mention them in the comments. Also note we have started a new section on our GM-Volt forum about Chevy Volt competitors. If you find one of these companies/cars interesting feel free to start a thread about them or any other EV/PHEV (LINK).

Of course, not that any of these companies actually have production models yet, but if or when they do, will any really have the wherewithal to compete with GM and it’s Volt?

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 27th, 2007 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Competitors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Out of all these companies, are there any that are really trying to sell EVs to the masses? To sell cars in the 10s or even 100s thousands cars? To be honest, I have heard of some of these companies, but have never seen any of
their cars on the road. With the exception of Tesla, are they just talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk but produce nothing that the masses would be interested in?

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Grizzly Says

Oct 27th, 2007 (8:15 pm)

You bring up a good point. Phoenix is another, they’ve got all these range specs but nothing on the road, prohibitively expensive, and are targeting fleet sales. Not exactly a consumer vehicle.

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Mark Says

Oct 27th, 2007 (9:43 pm)

Out of the companies that we have heard of, they sell their ‘decent’ cars at a price most people can’t afford.

The Tesla is what..100,000? only %2 of the population can afford that..

And the Zap-X?…that’s 60,000…another car which hardly anyone can afford.

If these companies are even remotely serious about selling decent electric vehicles to the masses, they have to lower the prices.

It seems that the only people who CAN afford the decent electric cars are also the only ones who can afford hummers, and the people who WANT to purchase one to save money, are unable to because they can’t afford it.

-have good range, probably 100+ miles on a charge
-charge quickly, 6-8hours MAX
-be priced competitively
-LOOK good
-not be too dang small
-have good battery life (100,000+ miles)

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Jason Says

Oct 28th, 2007 (1:29 am)

This is for Mark….the Tesla business plan is to start out with a hot electric car that can beat established brands like ferrari and show the world that electric cars are not ‘pokie’. The plan continues with a $50,000 car in 2010 and a $30,000 car after that (for a larger audience).

Just thought I would chime in. Tesla also has impeccable taste so these will likely be great to look at as well as drive.

After eyeballing the Fisker plug-in sports car (priced around the same as the Tesla),
I’m ready to write Tesla Corporation’s obituary. Tesla once prided itself on being an “amateur” automaker, uncompromised. What they’ve mostly proven to be, courtesy of Martin Eberhard, is an amateurish carmaker that’s had to eat their poorly selected words and hire some former Detroit auto execs to get their car to market. They still aren’t there yet. Now comes Fisker with a car that not only looks better, but like all plug-ins, has crosscounty and cross country capabilities, something one would expect for those discriminating non-citybound millionaire jetsetters they are recruiting as customers. If I were an investor type, I would start shorting any Tesla stock I could find, if it were a public corporation. If I had signed up and put down a deposit for a Tesla, I would kiss it goodbye and get on the Fisker waiting list.
TESLA Corporation : welcome to the free market economy. I have the distinct feeling you won’t be a member for a whole lot longer. Tesla may very well show up in business school textbooks of the future as a
good example of the inability of some would
be worldchangers to see past the end of their noses. That millionaire software tycoon who created Tesla will find that designing and building cars is a whole lot more complicated than computer software
pograms.

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James Says

Oct 28th, 2007 (3:34 pm)

Ouch

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Don Says

Oct 28th, 2007 (4:17 pm)

To compete with the Volt? No. Not at this time in AMERICA. But they are placing themselves in market spaces that have little overlap.

The Volt needs to sell 60K in year one and quickly grow to hundreds of thousands sold per year to be considered successful. It needs to be priced to the everyman’s price point and perform like other cars.

A smallish company’s EV would be a huge success selling a few tens of thousands a year, or less even.

That allows for the elite sports car niche and the exclusively commuting car. It allows for an EV company using an fast-charging high capacity high endurance battery to build EVs for high milage fleet use (cabs, garbage trucks, delivery trucks, buses, government vehicles, etc.) where the one quick central charge per shift is enough to power the shift work and the high milage makes the battery cost worth the expense. It allows for the narrow appeal of “early-adopters” and those who recognize that the trip across the country is going to be in an airplane, in the other car, or for that rare occasion even a rental and that choosing a car for their daily use is a wiser choice.

After those fleet vehicles have high penentrance, then wider roll-out of fast charge stations at say highway rest stops will begin and BEVs for the common man in America will become a reality in America.

But note, China is not only the most likely major manufacturing competitor, they are the biggest potential market as well. China wants energy independence as much as we do. They are trying to deal with pollution and even global warmings ramifications as well. The difference is that China has the capacity to just decide that EV will be the way to go and then so it will be. The cChinese companies that some of those names front for have a huge advantage there.

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Don Says

Oct 28th, 2007 (4:44 pm)

BTW Kent, my personal experience with some software is that “pogram” may be an apt phrase!

Tesla has done the world a favor even if they end up, as I also believe, being a grandglorious failure. They have changed the perception of EV from golfcart to powerful and sexy machine. Others (such as the importers/marketers of Chinese EVs like Miles and Zap) will reap the benefits. GM will benefit. Tesla however will be unlikely to benefit from those good works themselves.

Clarification… The ZAP Xebra is in production now as a city-car and truck design up to 40 MPH and recently was transferred to a more modern assembly line in China. It wasn’t designed for freeway speeds, but at a little over $10,000 it’s a great addition to a family, city or business fleet. ZAP has other higher performing vehicles under development, but are fortunate to have one of the few cost-effective electric cars and trucks on the market today with a sales and service network of automotive dealers.

No hint if/when this would turn into a production vehicle, which markets, or pricing.

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Nathan EV Says

Jan 18th, 2008 (12:47 pm)

Guess what? There are no electric cars on the market.

After hearing what happened at Tesla, I reviewed all the different “electric cars” on the market and there are none. Some of these companies are flat out lying. Nothing that is really available in a production scenario. Maybe some custom-built and conversions, but nothing rolling off an assembly line anytime soon.

It looks like Reva, ZAP, Zenn and maybe Miles have at least a sort of assembly line process, but these are not designed for freeway driving.

I remember in the 90s there were a lot of electric car startups and the automakers were showing around all sorts of concepts, but how many did they sell? All that’s left that I’ve seen are a couple hundred Toyota RAV4 EVs.

Consumers, buy electric. Don’t wait for the car companies, don’t wait at all. They want you to wait while you keep burning gas. Buy them and drive them and you will send a signal that you are ready. The cars will get better over time, but not if no one buys them today.

I think you mean there are no commercial EV’s on the US market? Also there are Neighborhood EV’s on the US market where they are legal. If not already on the market, I think we’ll soon see some EV motorcycles (and scooters).

Regarding the ’90s, you do realize none of the automakers sold their EV’s, they were all leased, so the answer is they sold zero. The couple hundred Rav4-EV’s (wish I had one myself!!!) were only saved because of public pressure (though someone on this site says it was for other reasons but I forget what they said it was).

Myself, now that GM says the Volt could cost up to $40k instead of “comfortably under $30k” they had previously thought they could sell it for, once the weather warms up, I may go back to looking for a very good condition everything but engine vehicle (possibly a Chevy S-10 as they look easier) for a good price, and put the $10k (using the popular golf cart flood lead acid batteries, other types obviously more expensive) or so and my labor into converting it into an EV.

1st the cover of the April 2008 issue is an image of Volvo’s ReCharge concept car. The 2 page spread (pages 50/51) on it gives the 1st hint at when we could possibly see it in production… it says "Not until 2015, most likely". So is no competition if it’s really that far out.

Are you a Japanease slave! What is American slavery in Japan!
Companies increase in Asia, and the American company is destroyed. The Japanese U.S. forces let Asia prosper, and U.S.A. becomes poverty / the slave country. The U.S. forces are in Japan they let Asia prosper, and to make U.S.A. the beggar country.

If my this email reaches you, you please transmit an email of the receipt to me.
I transmit this email to the various countries in the world 1,000 on one day. As for you of the transmission of a message of this email please cooperate.

If a company is established by the foreign country, Japan and U.S.A. cannot give up a foreign company because of an electric wave. Japan and U.S.A. attacked it by an electric wave not to be able to establish a company. War is early to collapse a company / a country. Like the peace and order police to maintain, do not put U.S. forces in Japan not to occur by war in Asia! U.S.A. easily has the territory in each Asian country by americans radio weapon after having destroyed an Asian company by the war of Asian countries.

Please withdraw U.S. forces early from Japan. If U.S.A. withdraws, I am terrible, and I anger Russia / Korea / China / others and let Russia attack Japan. I generate the Asian Great War. “Japan collapses in the radio weapon which I invented in the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union is small, is not Russia regrettable even if Russian?” Is Russia an insect mole cricket? I am terrible, and I blame Russia / Korea / China / others with “and let you launch an all-out attack on Japan. Almost the past, U.S.A. becomes rich if I do so it. I am terrible, and you make a fool of Russia / Korea / China / others and attack Japan.

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Japan and U.S.A. did secret war (a crime) in a radio weapon one-sidedly in the various countries in the world. And Japan and U.S.A. became the industrial country of the first place world. Japan and U.S.A. destroyed foreign economy. The Japanese radio weapon is powerless. Your country must retaliate for Japan and U.S.A. The company where is higher than Japanese and american half is a thing of your country. All the Japanese and American companies are things of various countries in the world. The world must retaliate for Japan and U.S.A. till a company disappears from Japan and U.S.A. May you forgive the long secret war that Japan and U.S.A. used a radio weapon for? It does not need the weapon to collapse in Japan and U.S.A. Do not buy a product and a car (Toyota・Nissan・Honda・Suzuki・Mitsubishi・Ford・GM・U.S.A.car)・Electricity（National ・ Matsushita・ Hitachi ・ SANYO ・ NEC ・ Sony ・ PIONIEER ・ SHARP ・ Victor ・ others）produced in Japan and U.S.A.! If you teach all your nations it in email and telephone and others, Japan and U.S.A. fall by all means.
And the companies of your country increase.
If an American base leaves Japan, war occurs in Asia. It is war, and the Asian industry is destroyed, and the American industry prospers.
Because the American base does not generate war in Asia, the U.S. forces become a slave keeping Asian industry. And the Asian industry continued developing, and the American industry was destroyed. The American base is a slave keeping Asian industry. The war does not happen in Asia till U.S. forces leave Japan, and the Asian industry continues developing, and U.S.A. starves from now on.

It will not generate war in Asia that U.S. forces are in Japan. And the Asian companies increase, and the American company is destroyed. It is U.S. forces go out of Japan, and to die so that U.S.A. becomes rich almost the past.
It maintains the Asian war misfire student peace and order that U.S. forces are in Japan. Asian enterprises of the thing will increase in a maximum. And the U.S. forces think if they are terrible if the U.S. forces which are in Japan become rich and are happy even if the American nation becomes same as a beggar. Because secret, it is possible even if the American nation starves in the U.S. forces which are in Japan, the U.S. forces think if the U.S. forces are very happy. It occurred for the self-interest of the U.S. forces which were in Japan that an American company went bankrupt. If U.S. forces go out of Japan, the Asian company is destroyed by war, and U.S.A. becomes rich.

It is in lobsters anything, and the whale grows. Only Japan caught whales and exterminated the whales from the world. As for several hundred years, you keep the whaling prohibition of fishing and must make the world sea whale richness. The whale can eat directly.
Anyway, you must retaliate against Japan and U.S.A. till it is it in the company of your country in Japan and the American company which You got by secret war till come to it-rich with a whale the again world sea.

Please translate this email into your national language, and let You show all nations of your country it and cooperate. If possible in the foreign country of the email please cooperate.
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